



J^^Y 



/2'?y 




FROM 



SHILOH TO CORINTH, 



A STENOGRAPH REPORT OF AFTER-LUNCH SPEECHES 



AT THE STATED MEETING OF THE 



COMMAND ERY OF OHIO 



MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION 



UNITED STATES, 



February 7, li 






'Q. 



2. 



(I)ilitary Order of the Loyal Legioii of tteQnM States. 



HEADQUARTERS COMMANDERY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 



The historical paper read at the stated meeting of this Coniniandorv, 
held at these headquarters, on AVednesday evening, February 7, 1894, 
was on the Battle of Corinth, written for the Conimandery of Ohio, by 
Brevet INIajor-General D. S. Stanley, U. S. A. This paper will api)ear 
in volume 4 of the Commandery's series of "Sketches of War History." 
The routine business of the meeting having been transacted and the his- 
torical paper read, the Companions proceeded to the Commandcry dining- 
room, where lunch was promptly served. 

The subject for after-lunch addresses was "From Shiloh to Corinth." 

By a fortunate circumstance, Brevet Major-Gcnoral Alexander Mc- 
Dowell McCook, U. S. A., being en route from Washington City to his 
command — the Department of Colorado — arrived in Cincinnati on the 
day of our meeting, and was present as the guest of the Comniandory. 

In the al)sence of our Commander, Brevet Brigadier-General Benja- 
min Harrison, the Senior Vice-Commander, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel 
E. C. Dawes, presided. 

The regular music for the evening was provided, as usual, by the 
Ohio Commandcry Quartette, under the direction of Companion Max 
Mosler, with Prof. A. J. Boex as piano accompanist, and the Avon Man- 
dolin Club. 

The following pages contain a stenograph report of the after-lunch 
speeches of the evening. 

A diligent search failed to find that T. Buchanan Read's song, "The 
Flag of the Constellation," which w'as sung by General McCook, had 
ever been printed with music. It is here printed with the music to 
which Mr. lioad sang it, ))robably for the first time, and should be sung 
with special ciiiphasis on the sentiment it contains. 

ROr.ERT HUNTER, 

Captain U. S. V., 

Recorder. 

Cincinnati, .Varrli 10, IslM. 




riTTSBUKG LANDING, TENNESSEE. 

[From a photograph taken in April, 1S62, a few days after the battle.] 

Shiloh Church is about 2^2 miles, a little south of west, from the landing. The steamer 
furthest up the stream is the Universe, dispatched by the Cincinnati Branch of the Sanitary 
Commission with stores for the wounded; the next steamer, the Tigress, was General 
Grant's headquarter.s' boat. On the opposite or east shore [is] the gun-boat Tijler. 

FROM SllILOH TO CORINTH. 



The Senior Vice-Commander — 

The subject for discussion to-night is the campaigns from Shiloh to 
Corinth and about Corinth, in which many of our Companions were en- 
gaged. By a happy accident, we have with us the commander of the 
division which, at the battle of Sliiloh, delivered to the Confederate array 
the final blow which .sent it, defeated and disheartened, back whence it 
came. His well-earned commission, as major-general of volunteers, was 
given to him for " gallant conduct and distinguished services in the battle 
of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth." Companions, rise to your feet and 
drink — long life, health, prosperity, and new honors to our guest of the 
evening, the prodigal son of the Ohio Commandery, that brave old sol- 
dier, General Alexander McDowell McCook. 



General McCook : — 

Commander and Companions of the Ofiio Commandery of the 
Loyal Legion: — I feel complimented for the warm welcome given me 
this evening; my nature always revolts when I am called upon to 
make a speech ; therefore, you must accept what I say in conversa- 
tional style. A man must be low in spirit and weak in mind, if he 
could not say something to-niglit to the Companions of the great State 
of Ohio. 

I have been introduced as a prodigal son of this Commandery. My 
explanation is, if one be needed, that the majority of the Commandery 
of the State of Kansas desired that I transfer to that Commandery for a 
missionary purpose. 1 did so, and upon that basis I was made their 
Commander. 

Being a young organization, they were desirous to liave an officer 
of the regular army at their head ; especially one who had held high 
rank in tlie volunteer service during the war. One thing I will state 
here — next to God and my country, I love the State of Ohio. I have 
great reason to be proud of the state of n)y birth, and, when the rust is 
worn away and the brightness of rest comes, the prodigal will return with 
repentance. 

I know there are many Companions belonging here who are not na- 
tives of Ohio — we have adopted them, and are proud of them for their 
citizenship and membership in this Order. 

As to the native born, I am sure you all regret that you were not 
born like me, upon the knobs and under the classic shades of Yaller 
creek. 

My professional duties in the past have required me to travel from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific; from the Lakes to the Mexican Gulf — meet- 
ing all classes of people, and frequent inquiry has been made of me, how 
it happened that Ohio produced so many great commanders during the 
period of 1861 to 1865, and furnished so many men who stand to the 
fore front in the cabinet, in the judiciary, and among the leaders in 
statesmanship. The answer was : Ohio and its people could not help it; 
it was an accident of settlement. The counties once known as the West- 
ern Reserve were settled by the Puritans. The next counties to the 
southward were peopled by the Scotch-Irish. 

The center tiers of counties were occupied by the cavaliers who came 
from Jamestown. Not believing in human slavery, they moved over the 
Oiiio river; entering the North-west Territory, they sought their homes 
and fortunes there. 

The southern portion of the state was pioneered by a like people. 



The Rhode Island colony located themselves at Marietta. The in- 
fluences of that settlement are known to all of you. Kentucky is the 
child of Virginia as to settleuient, and many of her people found homes 
north of the Ohio river. 

There were also many Germans who sought and found homes in this 
rich and fertile state. 

History teaches us that these were the people who have held the 
lead in all that was grand and worth living for. Their battle-cry was : 
Freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of government, with 
equality before the law as vital and living principles, and liberty as the 
cap-sheaf for all. 

The intermingling of these strong, vigorous, and virtuous people 
produced the men that were of suitable age in 1861 to take the lead in 
all that was ueedful for tlie preservation of our Union of States, and the 
perpetuation of religious and political freedom. 

It was my fortune to graduate from the Military Academy in June, 
1852. There were seven of us from Ohio iu that class. For a slight 
slip of discipline, Sheridan was suspended a year. The seven were : 
Sheridan, Crook, Stanley, Kautz, McCook, Chas. R. Woods, and John 
Nugent. Nugent died at Fort Stilicom, Washington Territory, before 
the war. All of the others obtained the rank of major-general of volun- 
teers, and five of us have reached the honorable position of general officer 
in tlie regular army — a phenomenal record from one class of the Military 
Academy, and from one state, even though that state be our beloved Ohio. 

Speaking of our Order, the Military Order of the Loyal Legiou of 
the United States, I do not believe there is an association in the world, 
unless it be the Grand Army of the Republic, that can equal it in disin- 
terested usefulness, patriotism, and in good will toward the people of this 
country. Patriotic enthusiasm is as necessary to-day as it was inl861-65. 
These sentiments should be properly understood and enjoyed throughout 
the length and breadth of the land. 

In these times of peace, we should do all we can in an honorable way 
to accumulate wealth sufficient to surround our homes with comfort. This 
is right and the duty of all ; but I pray you do not let the thirst for gain, or 
the accunmlation of wealth, deaden your love for that dear old flag for 
which we have fought. As certain as j'ou do, the money will prove to 
be vulgar money, and the possessor will prove unworthy of his accumu- 
lated wealth. 

Let the Loyal Legion keep on its course, and in God's own time — 

" The hearts that are true to their country and God 
Will meet at the last reveille, my boys." 



The Senior Vice-Commander — 

In the paper of General Stanley that was read to-night is a reference 
to a «tafF officer as a perennial source of orif^inal information. We have 
a number of gentlemen of the staff with us. Let me ask one of them 
what military lessons, if any, were taught to the army by General Hal- 
leck (luring the advance to Corinth. Colonel Cornelius Cadle, you have 
the floor. 

Colonel Cadle — 

In moving eighteen miles in thirty-five days, from Shiloh battle field 
to Corinth, we threw up works every few hundred yards and occupied 
seven strongly intrenched camps. During the last week of the cam- 
paign, when every body except headquarters knew that Beauregard was 
getting out of Corinth as rapidly as possible, we did the most work in in- 
trencliing, and preparations were made, on the day before we marched 
peacefully into Corinth, to repel an expected assault all along our line. 

In this movement we tlirew up a large amount of dirt. Since then, 
about an equal amount has been thrown at General Halleck on account 
of his conduct of that campaign. I appear for the defense, and am glad 
to have an opportunity to say a word in General Halleck's favor. I have 
never read his translation of "Jomini's Art of War," but I have no 
doubt in that abstruse work the rule is laid down, that in an enemy's 
country, no matter how far distant the enemy may be, an army should 
always intrencli its camp. 

General Halleck " builded better than he knew," and for what he 
did in that siege, or rather, for what he made us do in the line of dig- 
ging, he is entitled to our thanks and those of the country. He taught 
us the benefit of earthworks and how to make them, and the potentiality 
of the work that then seemed, and probably was to a large extent, un- 
necessary, was stored up in us for our future benefit. What we learned 
then we pnt in practical use when most needed, at Vicksburg, Chatta- 
nooga, and Atlanta. 

When, after Corinth, our army went into position in front of the 
enemy, it always protected itself with fence-rails, logs, and dirt, without 
the intervention or assistance of orders or engineers. So, while we may 
laugh at the futility of most of the work done during that campaign, we 
must acknowledge the benefit of the lesson taught us. 

6 



The Senior YrcE-CoMMANDER — 

General Stanley in his paper pays a glowing tribute to the Sixty-third 
Ohio regiment, which, at the battle of Corinth, after losing half its men 
and two-thirds of its officers, closed on its colors and remained in action 
until its front was cleared. In the left wing of the regiment, one officer 
alone remained unhurt and he was saved to suffer on another field. He 
was theu a captain ; he is now our honored member, General Charles E.^ 
Brown, from whom we will all be glad to hear. 

General Brown — 

Commander and Companions : — The paper which I heard read 
to-night in your presence has called up such vivid pictures, I might say 
living pictures of the scenes of thirty years ago, that I have little in my 
mind to-night other than that which pertained to our gnll'ant Commander 
Stanley and the action at Corinth on the 4th of October, 1862, and I 
do not know that I can add any thing to them of interest that has not 
been given in that paper. But, as I was there upon the field, I might 
possibly go into some little details not given by him. It so happened 
that I was at that time the senior captain of my regiment, the Sixty- 
third Ohio, the next in rank to Colonel Sprague, who has so recently 
passed from us; we had been upou duty two nights and two days; we 
were fatigued and worn out, and yet, on the evening of the 3d of October, 
two companies w'ere detailed. 1 was placed in command of them and 
sent out on the Chewalla road to watch throughout night. We were 
there under an intense feeling of anticipation, knowing the responsibili- 
ties resting upon us, the dangers before us, and the possibilities of the 
tremendous results of the morrow ; we watched silently and carefully ; 
along toward the morning we heard the Confederates planting their bat- 
teries on our front; we knew what was going on and remained quiet. 
I had a platoon drawn up across the road about four o'clock in the morn- 
ing, it being intensely dark. I could hear and finally see that there were 
two men riding out from the batteries to where we were drawn up across 
the road, it being so very dark they could not see us until they came so 
close it was impossible to retreat. They deiiianded to know what troops 
were there. In reply I said, come in and we will introduce you ; with 
that they came in, and we had Captain Tobin and his bugler. The cap- 
tain was in command of a battery from Memphis, and was a surprised 
and disgusted man ; we sent him to the rear. We went- back to^lhe 
regiment, and then the battle. This is the one battle I can see in my 
dreams, because it was to me, and to the Sixty-third Ohio, I might say. 



the great battle of tlie war. I can look out now and see those advancing 
columns of infantry, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight deep; I can 
remember the yell with which they started, a yell which can not be 
ascribed to either gods, devils, or men, and once heard can never be for- 
gotten, and how they charged. It looked as though nothing could save 
us ; then it was that a silent prayer of patriotic men went up to the God of 
heaven to help us in thai battle, and He did help us. On they came, not 
only once, but, again and again, and I can say, braver men I never saw ; 
they came to the very mouths of the cannon, and when the day had gone, 
the trenches in front of battery Robinette were literally filled with the 
dead, among whom were General Rogers, Colonel Moore, and a Chaplain 
who commanded a regiment.* I have a photograph taken on tiie follow- 
ing day which shows the situation at that time. Wearied and worn, we 
lay upon the battle field that night ; we were exhausted and we slept 
soundly. It was all wrong for criticisms to be made by any one against 
General Rosecrans for not following the enemy at once. It was utterly 
impossible for that command to have moved rapidly tliat night or even 
the next morning. They were brave men, and could do any thing that 
was possible for men to do ; more than that could not be expected of them. 
The next day we were started to follow up the retreating army of Price 
and Van Dorn. Colonel Sprague was in command of a brigade, and I in 
command of the Sixty-third Ohio regiment. I remember that the boys 
hunted around and found a little mustang, upon which I was mounted, 
and, with the survivors, about enough for two companies of the noble 
regiment of which more than fifty per cent had been stricken down, we 
started out to follow the repulsed Confederates. But I have no desire 
nor time to go into other details. We had noble commanders. There 
was a mutual confidence between the men and officers, and tlie natural 
results of that confidence were good service. I remember a short time 
afterward, as showing our love for Stanley, our brigade thought it befit- 
ting to offer him a kindly testimonial, a horse, equipage, and field glass, 
and I was chosen to make the presentation address. I remember in my 
little speech at that time of just a few words that have been suggested 
to me to-night. I remember these tl.ings among others; I said then, in 
talking to the boys : When this great contest is over, when triumph and 
peace rest upon our banners, when the right shall have been main- 
tained, when joy and gladness shall have returned to our land, when Ohio, 



* All the other commissioned officers of the regiment had been killed or 
disabled. 

8 



our own Ohio, shall be asked of what she has to be proud, may she point 
to her Rosecrans, her McCooks, and her Stanley, and exclaim in tlie 
true and emphatic language of the Mother of the Gracci, " these are my 
jewels." 

I have but one other thought to-night before closing my remarks — we 
have the pride of having done our duty ; we have helped solve some of the 
great problems of civilization, and I think successfully and finally. 
But there will be in the coming history of this nation still other great 
and important problems to solve, and it must rest upon tlie rising gen- 
eration ; these young men here, our sous, to take our place in that work ; 
and it is a part of our duty to educate them in this, and to bring thera 
here, every one. I had a noble boy, the pride and ambition of my life, 
whom I hoped to bring into this Order, and here teach him patriotism 
and duty, and when a few months ago I laid the dead body of that dar- 
ling boy in Spring Grove, I felt that my heart was broken ; but I have 
another and younger son, whom I shall bring here, if you will accept 
him and ask him to abide with you, learn with you, and go forward with 
you in fighting the great patriotic, moral and intellectual battles of our 
common country. 

The Senior Vice-Commander — 

At the time General Beauregard's army evacuated Corinth there was 
much discussion as to who was the first Union soldier to enter the Con- 
federate works. There were many claimants for the honor, such as it 
was, but the real hero was not then discovered. I know, however, who 
he was, and I am now going to tell his name. He was an Ohio soldier, 
of course. He survived the war. He belongs to this Comraandery. He 
is present to-night. Dr. William R. Thrall, rise in your place and tell 
how it happened that you entered Corinth, the advance guard of the 
great army. 

Dr. Thrall — 

Commander and Companions : — I presume the Commander is al- 
luding to a visit I made in Corinth a little prematurely; nevertheless, as 
I look back, I remember there were events there of some interest to 
me. The campaign which has been alluded to in the paper to-night, 
should have had for its title, "Tishomingo County, Mississippi, and the 
Scenes Therein Enacted." Perhaps in the history of the war there is no 
piece of territory upon which were enacted more magnificent specimens 
of heroism, of greater sufferings in war, or where the strength of patriot- 

9 



i.siii lias been l)roiight to a more severe test, tliaii tliat which took place in 
Tislioiniii(,'o county, Mississipj)!. 

The battle of Shiloh was i'ollowed by almost daily skirmishes up to 
the final evacuation of Corinth, including the battle of Farraington, 
which was an armed reconnoissauce of 10,000 men under General Pope 
sent to ascertain the exact position of the enemy, with instructions to 
not bring on a general engagement, and to leave no dead or wounded 
. on the field. It was in this expedition that I made the unsought acquaint- 
-ance of the First Missouri Confederate Infantry. 

The instructions in regard to the movement of our ambulances were 
to keep in the rear of the line, so that in case of need we would be close 
at hand, and would not be left unprotected. It was a pretty difficult 
thing to engineer a number of ambulances along the rear of a battle-line; 
iaeside there were no roads, but plenty of gullies and swamp lands to 
cross, consequently we had to feel our way around in the rear; and while 
<ingaged in that work I met with my invitation. The ambulances had 
come to a point where they had to stop until some road could be picked 
out upon which they could travel, and I had to recounoiter a mile or two 
before I discovered ?. passable way, and having done so, I sent back an 
orderly to bring the anibulances forward. I waited some considerable 
time, and not hearing from my dispatch or seeing the ambulances, I 
finally became impatient, and mounted my horse and went at a galloj) 
around through a straggling thicket of woods. The road was as crooked 
as you could possibly conceive it to be, and before I knew where I was 
going I ran into the First Missouri Infantry. I came upon them without 
knowing they wei'e there, and at no greater distance from me than the 
length of this room. I had passed the first six companies of this regi- 
ment, giving each of them a military salute, and thought I was about to 
get through, when I was halted by the lieutenant-colonel, who desired to 
know who I was and to what command I belonged. I very caudidly told 
him. He said that he would be compelled to relieve me of my side-arms. 
I said I had nothing but a pocket pistol. He asked me to turn it over. 
I unbuckled my holsters and took out a quart bi)ttle of spiritas frnmenti. 
He stepped forward, and having sinelled of it once or twice, he drew a 
full charge. I told him that I did not see the necessity of my staying 
with him, and asked to be relieved. He concluded that would not be 
safe, and insisted uj)oii my going into Corinth. I was taken to General 
Van Dorn's headquarters. He came out of his tent and looked at me, 
then turned me over to General Beauregard. I went to General Beaure- 
gard's quarters, but did not find him in. He had a chief of staff named 

10 



General Jordau, who was a very courteous gentleman, and who treated 
me very kindly and invited me to supper. At the sujjper-table we were 
discussing where we came from, and I found he was from Ohio. Wlitn 
he inquired for the family names and I told him, he said: "I know them 
well." He asked me where I was married. I told him in Zanesville, 
and who. I asked him where he had married, and he told me, and who ; 
and I said that I knew the family well. After thus passing along to this 
point I began to feel that I was calling among friends. He sent for General 
Beauregard's medical director and asked him to take care of me. The 
medical director assigned me quarters at the Tishomingo Hotel Hospital. 
It was then about nine o'clock at night. He took me to a room and in- 
troduced me to a Federal officer who had been wounded near the shoulder 
joint, who was sitting up in bed, and asked him if he had any objection 
to rooming with a comrade; and he then introduced me to Captain 
McCormick, who is a member of this Commandery, and whom you all 
know. I spent most of that night discussing with the captain how I got 
there and listening to the story of how he got there, and found that both of 
us had been reported dead or missing. I was paroled the next morning 
and allowed the freedom of that part of the town. During one of those 
long days there was a number of wounded brought in, the result of an 
unfortunate mistake. It seems that, in the darkness of the night before, 
two detachments of their cavalry, mistaking each other for enemies, 
opened a vigorous fire with disastrous results, and considerable surgery 
was necessitated. They invited me to assist in the operations, which I 
did. To my surprise, I learned that there was not an ounce of cliloro- 
form or ether in the hospital, so that those poor fellows had to suffer un- 
der the operations without the soothing effect of an anesthetic. 

The battle of Corinth, as described in General Stanley's paper 
to-night, was lead up to through the marching and counter-raarhing of 
large bodies of troops for days previous to the fight, and is to me as 
vivid a reminder of the scenes at that time, as I could wish. I am sur- 
prised at the memory of men in recalling these occurrences in detail. I 
remember distinctly the night of the first day's battle, and the horrible 
scenes in that Tishomingo Hotel Hospital — General Hackleman slowly dy- 
ing, and General Oglesby fearfully wounded. Here I closed the eyes of 
Colonel Baker, of Iowa. The next day was a remarkable one, and the 
description of the rebel troops charging into the town, and the turning 
aroimd of the guns of Fort Robinette, and the long sweep into the house 
where Rosecrans had his headquarters. There is a little incident that 

11 



would indicate vividly the strain upon the endurance of men in active 
battle. 

About 11 o'clock at night, after the cessation of hostilities on the 
first day of the battle of Corinth, an officer of General Rosecrans' staff, 
who had been in the saddle since early morning, laid down on his cot 
to rest, in the house occupied by the general as his headquarters. It 
was a typical Southern residence — one story high, surrounded by porches. 
After he had fallen into a deep sleep, and about midnight, word was sent 
to the general that a rebel battery was being posted so as to shell 
the town at break of day. Whereupon, the general and his staff 
removed out of range, but no one thought to awaken the sleeping 
officer. At 3 o'clock this battery opened fire, and hour after hour the 
fight grew hotter and hotter. The artillery verily shook the earth. The 
guns of Fort Robinette poured shot into house and yard that killed 
more than twenty rebels, and still he slept. At 11 a. m. the battle 
ceased, but it was late in the afternoon before he aroused and rubbed 
his eyes, and seeing those dead rebels lying in the yard, he then began 
wondering what had become of the rest of the Union Army. That officer 
was Captain Byron Kirby, formerly of this city. During the time he lay 
there sleeping a shot passed within four inches of his head, a shot which 
passed clear through the room, and by laying him down on the cot tlie 
fact was clearly demonstrated. It only sliows how weary the men were 
after the first day's fight, and what must have been their condition after 
the second day of the battle. 

The Senior Vice- Commander — 

Tlie division of General T. A. Davies, of General Rosecrans' army, 
bore the brunt of the battle of Corinth on the first day, and was again 
heavilv engaged on the second day. Major \V. H. Cliamberlin's com- 
mand was in that division. I will call upon him to relate some inci- 
dents of its action. 

Major Ciiambeiilin — 

Commander and Companions: — I read with a great deal of pleas- 
ure the pajjer by General Stanley. I do not propose to weary you with 
any extended account, taken from my standpoint, that of a subordinate 
line officer in one of the regiments of General Davies' division, but there 
are several tilings in connection with that battle which seem to me 
quite peculiar and interesting. In the first place, it is a fact that we 
dill not put into practice the lessons that Colonel Cadle says we learned 



during the advance in making fortifications. It will be observed from 
General Stanley's paper that the battle was fought without iutrench- 
ments, except for the artillery, and, although tliere was sufficient time 
in which any commander of enlisted men in the campaign of 1864 would 
have intrenched, no effort in that direction was made. It was a fair, 
square, stand-up fight between two sets of as brave men as were found 
anywhere during the war. 

Another matter that caused a good deal of feeling at the time, and 
which has not been wholly quieted yet, was the conduct of the division 
to which I belonged in the second day's fight. General Davies, the 
commander, from that day until the day of his death, cherished bitter 
feelings toward General Rosecrans. The ground was the action and 
language of General Rosecrans in the presence of General Davies' troops, 
not any personal insult to General Davies himself In a great many of 
the reports of newspapers of that day, the action of the Second Division 
was exaggerated into the most disgraceful conduct that couUl be charged 
against a soldier. It is not unnatural that members of that division 
should feel hurt under such accusation. I am glad to see in General 
Stanley's paper that there is no extended reference to this bitterness. 
General Stanley was not a party to the affair; it was between Davies 
and Rosecrans. But I would like to say that the conduct of that divi- 
sion upon that day was not unusual, not unnatural ; that it is not to be 
wondered at by any one, and it did not indicate that the men connected 
with it were lacking in personal bravery. Of course, in any command, 
unless one of exceptional character, there are individuals who lose their 
heads and bravery, if they ever had any, whenever an occasion of dan- 
ger arises; and I do not say that every man in the whole division did 
his whole duty, but I do say that the bulk of the men performed their 
duty upon that day, and that their action was not an unusual or disgrace- 
ful one. 

The regiment to which I belonged, when the first shock of the bat- 
tle came upon them, was lying in column by companies in reserve. It 
was put behind a low ridge, upon which the main line of battle was 
posted, and not fifty yards in rear of the line. The first intimation that 
my regiment had of the approach of the enemy was the sight of the 
gray line itself swarming upon the top of that ridge. At the same time 
our artillery rushed through our ranks, and several men of my company 
were run over and wounded by the artillery caissons. There was, of 
course, confusion, but there was no flight. I will qualify that by saying 
there may have been individuals who rushed to places of safety, but the 

13 



body of the command went ba(;k slowly until they reached a point where 
a rally was possible. Then the command did rally and moved back over 
the ground it had left, and, by the help and action of the troops on the 
right and left, succeeded in driving the enemy back to and beyond their 
original battle line. 

Tiiis was not the act of troops in a panic. The line passed over the 
ridge and drove the enemy in retreat far beyond where our line was in 
the morning. Soon after, I went down among the wounded in that val- 
ley of slaughter, and had the opportunity of picking up Lieutenant- 
Colonel Moore, of a Mississippi regiment, who commanded a brigade. I 
think he was reported to have been in advance of his brigade when 
wounded, and I assisted him to the field hospital. He died subsequently 
at Corinth. 

The bravery of the Confederate troops at that point I think can not 
be overstated ; ti>ey ran into what seemed to be absolute and certain 
destruction. If Davies' line had been ordered to withdraw as it did, the 
result could not have been better. It drew the enemy in between two 
converging fires, in low ground, swept by Rosecrans' entire infantry and 
artillery forces. No living organization could have survived in that situ- 
ation. The ground was covered with dead and dying. Such a slaughter 
I never saw, except at a little spot on the battle field of Atlanta. Of the 
Confederate troops who penetrated into Corinth, few escaped alive. 

I think that the feeling to which I refer has considerably died out. 
I know that every soldier who fouglit through the war, and who looks 
back to the experience of the troops at that time, sees clearly that there 
was no panic, there was no cowardice, there was nothing that could have 
justly caused such feeling as existed between Rosecrans and Davies at 
that time. Both of these men were excited with the responsibilities of 
the situation. Rosecrans felt the desperate straits f dlowing what he for 
the moment felt was the ignominy of defeat in the center of his line of bat- 
tle, and, I iiave no doubt, felt that his time of service was about to end. 
He happened to be at that point, and doubtless felt that all was lost. 
That he should be, in the midst of such a scene as that, excitable and 
harsh, and that he should do and say tilings f>r wliich he should after- 
ward make amends, is not at all unnatural. 

One thing to be considered in passing judgment upon the conduct of 
Davies' division on that day is that it had been engaged almost the whole 
of the preceding day in lierce battle. The men had been loused at day- 
light, and had marched out some three miles or more to meet the enemy. 
The division numbered but three thousand men, yet it undertook to cover 

14 



a line immeasurably beyond its capacity. It met and checked during 
the day, in five lines of battle, almost the entire rebel army, and finally, 
under the guns of battery Robinette, late in the afternoon, it met an at- 
tack by the enemy vastly outnumbering its reduced condition, and, I am 
glad to say, drove him from the field iu as gallant a charge as was ever 
made. 

I shall never forget the scene at that time, when General R, J. 
Oglesby, our brigade commander, was wounded. Early in the day, 
when his little attenuated line had been overwhelmed by an overpower- 
ing force of the enemy, and had been compelled to retire. General 
Oglesby was the most completely discouraged man I ever saw. He did 
not appear to have realized that his little brigade would have been anni- 
hilated by the vastly superior force of the enemy if it had held its place. 
He only seemed to feel that there was disgrace in the discretion which 
prevented capture. He had been a politician and was a good orator. 
When his troops had been gathered together, which w^as quickly done, he 
could not resist the temptation to make a brief speech. With the deepest 
earnestness, he announced that we would stand where we were against 
whoever came. Rising in fervor as he viewed in imagination the im- 
pending conflict, he said: "Boys, I expect every one of you to stand 
firm, and if there is any dying to be done, I want you to understand that 
I am going to die with you." There was no mistaking his earnestness, 
but that was not the place to test it. He was ordered to fall back nearer 
Corinth, and did so, as I have already said, until the final stand was 
made before Robinette. There, after lying under a vicious shelling, the 
order to charge on the enemy, already i-eferi'ed to, was given. The or- 
der, as I have said, was most gallantly executed. General Oglesby's 
hour of triumph had come. As he saw our banners advancing through 
the smoke of our guns, and the enemy driven back, his soul seemed to 
be in an ecstasy of joy. Riding down the lines, he waved his sword and 
shouted at the top of liis voice, until struck by an enemy's bullet. He 
thought the wound mortal, as did others, but he said to one near him 
that he could die content, for he had seen his troops in victory. 

It was in this movement that General P. A. Hackleman, another brig- 
ade commander, was killed. This charge ended the fighting for tlie day. 

The Second Division in this first day's operations had lost one-third 
of its number. One brigade commander had been killed, and two others 
were disabled by wou nds. General Stanley's paper has pictured the suflfering 
endured by reason of heat, dust, and want of water. The remaining 
divisions had been comparatively free from engagement on the first day, 

15 



and General Davies suggested to Rosecrans that the troops of the Second 
Division should be spared on the next day. General Rosecrans ordered 
them in reserve, but tlie order proved to be an injury instead of a bless- 
ing, for it required until after ten o'clock to get into the reserve position, 
and at eleven o'clock General Rosecrans changed his plan and ordered 
Davies' division to a place in the center of the front line. The execution 
of this last order kept the men in wearisome marching and waiting until 
tiiree o'clock in the morning. Upon this battle-torn and physically ex- 
hausted little division the weight of the first attack fell on the second day. 
There was no dishonor in its temporary recoil, especially, when rallying 
in good time, it moved back to its place and sent the enemy in flight be- 
fore its guns. 

The Senior Vice-Commander — 

We received into the Commaudery to-night the elder son of one of 
our Companions, with whose brilliant record as a musket-bearing soldier, 
officer of the line and the staff we are all familiar. Major Frank J. Jones, 
please tell us of your feelings upon this occasion as well as something 
upon the topic of the evening. 

Major Jones — 

Commander and Companions of the Loyal Legion : — It is always 
a very great pleasure for me to attend the meetings of tl)e Loyal Legion, 
but it is especially gratifying to me to be i)reseut to-night to witness the in- 
stallation of my son as a member of our Commandery, and to meet again, 
surrounded by these very agreeable circumstances, my esteemed friend. 
General McCook. upon whose staff I had the honor to serve during the 
war while he was in command of the old Twentieth Army Corps, and it is 
with cordial congratulation I notice that he is enjoying perfect health. 

These meetings are not only full of personal enjoyment to all of us, 
but they are of great value, for they freshen and revive the recollection 
of many important events of the war which might otherwise be forever 
forgotten, as well as strengthen the ties of friendship and bond of fellow- 
ship which unite those who participated in the struggle for the preserva- 
tion of this glorious Union. Tlie associations of my three and a hali 
years' service in the army are very dear to me, and it is with never- 
failing interest ami delight I recall the names of my Comrades and the ex- 
citing incidents of the campaigns in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, and Georgia in whicli I took part. The subject for re- 

16 



marks this evening is, "From Siiiloh to Corinth," a most important and 
eventful period of the war. 

I served in the battle of Shiloh on the staff of General Wm. Sooy 
Smith, who commanded the Seventeenth Brigade of the Army of the Ohio, 
my regiment, the Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being apart of that 
brigade. After the battle of Shiloh I continued to serve with General Smith 
during the advance upon and the entire campaign which resulted in the 
evacuation of Corinth. Well do I remember our experience at this time, 
and especially the excitement in our army the night before the retreat of the 
rebels from that wretched town. The noise and turmoil made by our 
enemy on the eve of their evacuation of this place was so great that 
we had a right to believe something startling awaited us ; either a 
battle or a hasty pursuit. The strategic importance of the capture of 
Corinth, in tlie estimation of some of our commanders, may be under- 
stood from the remark made by General Halleck, that the downfall of the 
Rebellion might be dated from that event. The error of this calcula- 
tion was made apparent by subsequent developments. In fact, as we well 
know, the succeeding years of the war were marked with an increasing 
series of hard-fought battles, each of which had an important influence 
in the decline of the power and strength of the rebels. 

As I look around this room this evening, and notice the gray hairs 
on the faces and heads of many of those present, I realize that ere long 
the mantle of dignity and the responsibility of keeping up this Associa- 
tion will rest upon the shoulders of the eldest sons of our original Com- 
panions as soon as they become of the proper age, and the prospect should 
be gratifying to them, as well as to ourselves. Here they may learn to 
love their country, and by the example of their fathers receive an inspira- 
tion which will prompt them to do their duty as good and brave citizens 
when their country demands their services; and whenever our national 
honor and welfare are in peril, I have confidence in the spirit and courage 
of our sons, and believe these American youths will come forward to fulfill 
their part with the same willingness and readiness their fathers did more 
than twenty-five years ago. 

The Loyal Legion is in fact a school of patriotism, and I regard the 
provision for its maintenance and perpetuation by our sons as wise and 
commendable. 

The Senior Vice-Commander — 

We have long known there was no more capable or gallant soldier 
than General McCook. We now know that he is entitled to a place in 

17 



the front rank <>f after-dinner speakers. He has other accomplishments. 
I have c 'ufideutial information that he can sing. 

General McCook — 

The people of Cincinnati should have pleasant memories of T. 
Buchanan Read ; he lived amongst them fur a number of years. 

He was a lyric poet and artist. He was a thorough patriot — not a 
soldier — but he and James E. Murdoch did much fur the Union cause, 
with lectures, recitations, etc., assisting the Sanitary Commission. 

In I860, Read was passing the winter in Rome, Italy. News of po- 
litical troubles in his native land reached him and gave him much 
distress. He there wrote, early in 1861, "The Flag of the Constella- 
tion," a lyric adapted to the music of "Sparkling and Bright." 

Reed determined to leave Italy for his home in Ohio. Reaching 
Liverpool, England, in July, 1861, the poets and artists of that city gave 
him a dinner. The aristocracy and bloods of England were hostile to all 
American interests, and were delighted with the prospect of an interstate 
war in America. The guests joked Read upon the subject, saying that 
the Southrons would whip all the Yankees of the North, and the Republic 
would only live in history as a thing of the past. Read was only one to 
twenty in the discussion, but held his own. Near the close of the dinner 
dispatches from the United States came, and were read, containing an ac- 
count of the first battle of Bull Run, one of them being from the Xew 
York Herald. 

Read was sad. He asked to see the dispatch from the New York 
Herald. After reading it he said : 

"Gentlemen — I believe the news contained in this dispatch to be 
true. 1 am sorry for it, but there is one fact connected with that battle 
that I want you all to remember, and that is. there were no Englishmen 
against us in that battle. It took our own people to do that." 

He then sang the song he wrote before leaving Rome, "The Flag 
of the Constellation," which I will now sing for you : 

18 



THE 



Flag of the Constellation 



BY 



T. BUCHANAN READ. 

1861. 



MUSIC BY 
JAMES B. TAYLOR. 



THE FLAG OF THE CONSTELLATION. 



T. BucHAXAN- Read, iSoi. 
Allesri'^'tto. 



James K. Taylor. 







fcdz=}: 



i 



1. The stars of the morn on our ban - ner borne. With the 

I 2. What hand so bold as to strike from its fold, One 

' 3. Its nie - te - or form shall ride the siorni "Till the 

4. Peace, peace to the world, is our mot - to un-furled, Tho' we 

-(t—t 



P 



i - ris of Heav - en are blend -ed; The hands of our sires first 
star or onestripe of its bright'ninsj To him be those stars each a 
fierc-est of foes sur - ren - der; The storm gone by it shall 
shun not the field that is go - ry ; At home or a-broad. fearing 

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mingled those fires ; 
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4 



Loud and long-contiuued applause followed Geueral McCuok's sing- 
ing, and, being again called out, he said : 

I have another incident in mind of which I know old soldiers will 
like to hear an account. 

The Eighth Regiment of United States Infantry was assembled at 
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, for the purpose of joining the army of oc- 
cupation under General Zachary Taylor at Corpus Christi, Texas, a day 
having been set for the departure of the regiment; during the morning 
of that day, one of their most beloved officers, Major Shepard, died of 
cholera. The burial took place in the afternoon. Tlie regiment marched 
out to the cemetery, deposited their loved one in the ground, fired the 
three volleys over the grave, when they marched to the landing and 
boarded the steamboats waiting there to carry them to New Orleans, 
where they took ihe sea transports for Corpus Christi. Being several 
days upon the gulf, and nearing the entrance to Aransas Bay, a small 
steamer came out and hailed them, telling them Ampudia and La Vega 
had crossed the Rio Grande, and were marching to attack Taylor's base 
at Corpus Christi. 

Excitement prevailed on the transports, but a young lieutenant, 
Arthur T. Lee, retired to his cabin, and was engaged there for a time. 
Young Lee was given to song and poetry. 

It was after supper; the officers were in the forecastle smoking. 
The moon was shining brightly, as it can shine only -with such bril- 
liancy in those latitudes, when several spoke — "Come, Lee, give us a 
song." 

Standing upon that deck, with the phosphorescent waves around 
him, Lee sang the song known thereafter to the army as "Aransas 
Bay," the verses and music of which he had written and composed during 
the afternoon. Lee taught me the music, and I will sing his song for 
you. 

ARANSAS BAY. 

There is light on the wave, the moon shines bright, 

Pa-ss the bowl, fling sorrow away, my boys. 
If the breeze holds on, we will rock to-night 

On the waves of Aransas Bay, my boys. 
We have slept in the calm, we have laughed in the gale. 

We have <lanced by the moon's pale light, my boys, 
By to-morrow's <hiwn, if the breeze holds on, 

We '11 bid farewell to the sea, my boys. 

22 



Chorus. 

Then pass round the bowl, the moon shines bright ; 

Our wild campaign has begun, my boys. 
We'll drink to all a glad good-night. 

And to-morrow, we'll fight if we may, my boys. 

Light hearts we bring to this stranger land. 

Though a shadow has hung o'er us late, my boy.^. 
We '11 drain our cups with a steady hand, 

And smile, whate'er be our fate, my boys. 
Some of us must lie 'neath the prairie sod. 

Some will go back o'er the sea, my boys, 
But the hearts that are true to their country an<l God 

Will meet at the last Reveille, my boys. 

Chorus. 
Then pass round the bowl, etc. 




TlallOMlNGO HOTEL AND RAILROAD DLio.. ^^.i..MiI. :.;i.-.-iaai: x 
From an original photograph, taken in the summer of 1862. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



012 195 897 1 



